Detachable tread for footwear



April 13 1926. A

\ W. H. CHENERY DTAGHABLE TREAD FOR FOOTWEAR Filed Feb. 4. 1924 l5 30 30. Lt

)f/ 31' Halo 3 INVENTUI;

wuuAMucnzNmY FIG. 5 17% j 8l@ ATTURNE s Patented pr. 13, 1926.

, p -UNITEUSTATS WILLIAM H. CHENERY, oF iurou'rmiAL,QUEBEC,y CANADA.v

1 miTACHABLE'rREAD Fon FOOTWEAR. i

i Y iAppleatiieni kledflfebrruary 4, 1924. Serial No. 690,573.

To all @from t mag/concern.' s

Be it knowntha't I, VILLIAM H. CHENERY,

a subject of the King of Great Britaimand Y resident of the city of Montreal, inthe Province of Quebec, haveinvent'ed certain newy and usefulV Improvements' in [Detachable i Treads forFootwear, ofwhich the'following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to'new and useful improvements in detachable tfeadsfor' footwear or thelike and the objectofftheinvention is to provide a simple, yinexpensive tread which will be easily attachedto footwear and will automatically lock itself in position.

Another .object is yto provide a detachable tread for footwear which, when iixedto the footwear,`will tend to hold itself Securely in position through the action of walking.

A further object is to providea spring grip between the detachable portion and the fixed portion of the heel or the like inthe vertical-direction, which will form aclose jointl between the contracting portions.

A still further object is to provide a detachable tread in `which .the spring locking mechanism will be protected fromcoming in contact with objects which may unlock same.

yIn my'invention I provide'ya tread of leather,rubber or the like to lwhich is at-k tached a plate having p vhooks which are formedto provide a spring gripion the plate attached to the fixed portion of the footwear. The plates'pare attached to their respective `portions ofthe device by means of rivets formed integral with plates. Asprin'gmauto- 'matic locking means is provided in the up- Y per portion of the footwear. said means being adapted to engage with thehooks which p pass through apertures'formed in the upper plate. The upper plate is provided with an upwardly extending lug having an'aperture formed therein,V yto provide easy access' to the upwardly lextendingportion of the spring locking means. The lug also. provides a protection against objects whichmay come in Contact with the locking device' and'unvlocksame. v

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a side of the heel of a shoe, having my improved detachable tread.`

Figure 2 is a plan looking on the underside of the fixed portion of the heel shown in Figure 1.

" Figure 3is a sectional elevation taken o the line v3%3 Figure 2.

' Figure 4 is a plan view ofthe detachable` s tread.

Figure 5 is a sectional elevationv taken on v the line 5-5 Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a side elevation ofone modifi-V cation lofthe device applied to rubber heels. 'p

Figure 7 is a plan view of the fixed tion of the heel.

Figure 8 is a'sectional elevation taken on the linel 8--8 Figure 7 A Figure 9 is a plan view'of the detachable portionof the heel shown iny Figure 6.

Figure l1() is a sectional elevation taken on thelinel 10j-10 Figure 9.

Referring more particularly to the drawings,Y in which my device is applied vto theheels of footwear for illustrative purposes only,"11 designates the upper of a shoe to which is securely attached the fixed portion 12 vof the heel. 'The lowerl surface of the portion is provided with a recess 13 equal in depth to the thickness of the plate 14 which maybe attached to the portion'12 by means of the prongs 15 which are bent over to hold. the plate in positionA asshown-in Figure 3.y Theplate fits into the recess havf-` Y ing a small margin 16' around thepoutside vedges of the-heel'. The prongsare punchedl from the plateand holes 17 may'also bey punched in the platefor attaching the heel to the upper.y Slots 18 are punched in the plate'and the portion 12 mayl be provided l with shallow recesses 19 adapted to coincide with slots 18 for a purpose hereinafter described. j In the centre ofthel heel an aperture 20 is'provided. Attached to thefplatel 14 is the spring locking device 21 which is provided with a downwardly projecting portion 22 adapted to coincide with'the 'slot 2O..Y This locking means is made rfrom spring steel `or such like materialand is attached tothe plate 14 by any suitable means7 while the other end yis bent upwardly as indicated at 23'to form an operating means for the) spring. vTo protect this end fromcoming v1n contact with objects on the ground,` part of the plate is bent upwardly as indicatedv at 24 'and provided with a slot 25 through which the end ofthe thumb may be pushed to operate the locking device. The heel may vbe provided with an elongated recess 26 to allow free movement of the spring locking means. The detachable portion or tread 27 is recessed to receive a plate 28 and prongs 29 are punched therefrom to attach the plate to the tread. Projecting upwardly from the plate are thehooks SO which are punched from the plate, part of said hooks being adapted to lie horizontally with the plate. The ends of the hooks are curved to form a grip on the plate 14 when the hooks are pushed through the apertures 18 and 20. The hooks are so positioned that when the surface 31 of the hooks engages with edges 32 of the slots 18 the outside edges of the heel will coincide. When in this position, the spring locking means is adapted to engage the back 3% of one of the hooks thereby locking the tread in position until the spring is operated manually. The above 'description deals specifically with the device as disclosed in Figures 1 to 5 inclusive.

In Figures 6 to 10 inclusive, I have shown one modification of the device which is particularly adapted for heels of rubber construction. The general construction is something similar to that shown in Figures 1 to 5 eX- cept that the attaching means between the tread portion and its plate consists of hollow7 rivets held in position in the tread portion, said rivets being adapted to be flanged over the apertures 36 formed in the plate. This takes the place of the prongs shown in Figure 5 as this prong construction is unsuitable for heels of rubber construction. No prongs are provided in the plate shown in Figure 7 and designated 14a. The plate 14a is provided with apertures 37 through which. and the portion 12, screws may be placed for attaching the device to the upper. Also, on this modified form the rubber is adapted to extend completely around the plates and the guard 24 so that when the tread is attached no portion of the attaching means is exposed.

The spring locking means shown in Figures 6 to 8 inclusive is provided with a downwardly projecting portion 22 of rectangular formation, the back side 38 of which is adapted to frictionally engage with an upwardly projecting portion 39 of the plate lst formed by bending upwardly one of the sides of the plate surrounding the aperture 20. The front side 40 of the locking means is spaced from the edge al of the aperture 20a, a distance equal to the thickness of the hook 30 to allow the neck 42 of the hook to engage with the plates let before the spring falls into the position behind the hook as shown in Figure 6. The projecting portion 39 by frictionally engaging with the side 38 assists in holding the spring in the locked position until unlocked by forcing the spring out of engagement with the hook.

It will be readily understood that with very slight alteration in shape this device may be used for attaching sole treads to foot- WVell.

In operation the heels are placed in posi tion with the hooks entering the slots in the upper plate by pushing the lower portion in the direction indicated by arrow X, The hooks engage with the upper plate and said hooks being curved at their ends tend to draw the parts of the heel together. 'Ihe hooks are placed facing the direction of the arrow so that pressure exerted on the back of the heel always tends to keep the tread in position. When the tread is placed in the position shown in Figure 1, it is automatically locked by the action of the spring, part of which engages with the back of one of the hooks to hold the device in position. rIhe upper plate is also provided with a guard which prevents objects from coming in contact with the spring to unlock same during walking. As will be seen from the forego ing description heels made in this manner will be very easily and inexpensively manufactured and when repairs are required these may bepdone expeditiously and neatly by the wearer.V

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is A heel structure comprising an upper part having a metal plate secured to its bottom surface, said part and plate being formed l with registering openings and one vedge of said plate being turned upwardly to provide a guard fiange, a lower part having a meta! plate secured to its upper surface, a plurality of hooks projected upwardly from said last vmentioned plate and adapted to be inserted in the openings of the first mentioned plate and to grip the latter when shifted latterally thereon subsequent to insertion through said openings, and a spring loc-king strip having one end secured on the first mentioned plate and provided with an intermediate projection adapted to engage in one of the openings in said plate and behind the hook inserted in said opening, the free end of the locking strip being bent upwardly to'lie against the inner surface of the guard ange and being accessible through an opening formed in the latter. l

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

VILLIAM I-I. CI-IENERY. 

